Turning Over A New Leaf
by CanzetYote
Summary: When Stretch-O-Mutt comes across a tearful and upset Dogwood, he vows to befriend him and spends a day with him at the carnival. Little does Stretcho know that Dogwood's a villain. A very lonely and sad villain.
1. Tears Of A Villain

**NOTE:** _I plan for this to be a 3 or 4 chapter fic._

Stretch-O-Mutt was bouncing around in the park happily. It was a bright, sunny day and not a cloud in the sky as he frolicked about the place when suddenly, he heard a quiet whimpering. Peering through a patch of nearby bushes, he found a strange looking dog with really mossy-looking fur with twigs sticking out and a blunt snout that resembled a stump of wood. He had long leaves for ears and appeared to be crying, tears of sap streaming out of his green eyes and running down his snout as he sobbed quietly to himself. Stretcho frowned at the sight of the poor creature so he stretched his neck out and affectionately nuzzled the crying creature, "What's the matter, little guy?"

"Just...just leave me alone." Dogwood sniffled, rubbing his nose with a paw, "I'm having a bad day so just beat it."

Stretcho frowned again but then proceeded to nuzzle Dogwood again and slurp up the sap-filled tears from the villain's snout, "Oh yummy! Your tears taste just like maple syrup! Hey, maybe you should get some pancakes to cry on."

"Just who do you think you are?!" Dogwood spat in irritation, "Do you even know who I am?"

"No. Am I supposed to know you?" Stretcho asked with a shrug.

"Oh. Um...in that case my name is um...uh...Twiggy." Dogwood lied, smiling nervously at the elastic pooch.

"Oh. Hello, um...uh...Twiggy. My name is Stretch-O-Mutt but you can just call me Stretcho for short." Stretcho shook Dogwood's paw.

"And you can call me Twig for short." Dogwood replied back, shaking the hero's paw.

"So why were you boo-hooing so hard, Twig?" Stretcho asked, draping a paw around the plant hybrid's shoulder.

Dogwood sighed and slowly shook his head, "I tried making friends with a couple other jerks and they just laughed at me and called me a freak." Dogwood's plantlike tail drooped as he remembered Bud and Lou laughing at him and calling him names as he attempted to ally himself with the hyenas. The lab experiment had always been a laughingstock among his fellow villains.

"That's horrible!" Stretcho gasped out, winding his elastic arms around Dogwood and pulling him into a tight hug, "Lucky I found you cause you look like you're in need of a friend."

And with that, Stretcho let Dogwood go and the plant hybrid burst into a fit of coughing from the strength of the hug.

"Sorry." Stretcho apologized sheepishly as the lab experiment caught his breath.

"It's...it's okay." Dogwood wheezed, "So uh...what do you do for fun, Stretcho?"

"All kinds of things!" The elastic blue mutt replied with pure joy, bouncing up and down, "C'mon, Twig. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. There's a carnival in town so let's go, go, go!"

And with that, Stretcho took Dogwood by the arm and dragged him. Immediately, the villain regretted asking that question. He knew for sure that this hyperactive elastic pooch would quickly wear down his energy.


	2. The Carnival

"So what are we doing at this carnival again?" Dogwood asked with irritation in his voice.

"Having fun, that's what!" Stretcho laughed, "So what do you wanna do first, Twig? Bumper cars? Roller coaster? Eat cotton candy til we throw up? There's so many fun, fun, fun things to do at a carnival!"

Dogwood sighed and stared at the ground. He felt like making a snide remark like he usually did but this was the very first time someone in his life was actually treating him with kindness. It was a very strange and alien yet pleasant feeling to the experiment and he didn't want to do anything to mess it up, even if the blue, elastic superhero drove him up a wall. Stretcho's company was better than no company at all. Looking around, Dogwood spotted a booth where you throw darts to pop balloons and a smile came across his muzzle, "I have an idea."

Instantly, Dogwood let out a loud grunt and a cactus sprouted from his back. Stetcho gasped and squealed in delight, "You can make cactuses grow out of your back? That is SO COOL!"

"Cacti." Dogwood corrected Stretcho, "And not just cacti, I can make any plant I want sprout from my fur."

"Does that mean you're one of the Dog Star Patrol?" Stretcho asked, wagging his tail excitedly.

"Dog Star Patrol?" Dogwood blinked in confusion, "Nah, I'm just a humble lab experiment who doesn't mean any harm."

"Well then, maybe you should meet the Dog Stars sometime, Twig. I'm sure you'd fit right in with them." Stretcho replied, bouncing up and down.

"Maybe later." Dogwood replied, "Anyway, watch what I can do with this cactus of mine." The hybrid walked up to the stall's counter and stood on his hind legs, "You see, it's all in the wrist."

Dogwood plucked some spines off the cactus on his back and chucked them at the balloons, popping about five of them at once. Stretcho gasped with delight and applauded, "That was amazing!"

"Meh, its a gift." Dogwood shrugged nonchalantly, handing Stretcho a stuffed bear that he won as he retracted his cactus. The elastic dog happily squeezed the teddy to his chest as his tail wagged a mile a minute.

Just then, the sound of a child having a tantrum filled the air, "But mommy, I want the panda, not the koala!"

"I'm sorry honey, but we don't have enough to continue playing." The mother hushed her son.

"BUT I WANT THE PANDA! WAAAAAAAAA! GIMME THE PANDA! GIMME! KOALAS ARE STUPID!"

Dogwood watched in digust as the brat started throwing the tantrum and Stretcho stopped cuddling his teddy and stared, "Wow, that kid's got some serious issues with koalas."

"Yeah, what a little bundle of joy." Dogwood replied with pure sarcasm in his voice.

Stretcho turned to face the hybrid, "You know, I can play carnival games as well. Watch as I knock down those milk bottles like they're nothing!" The blue hero pulled out some spare change and stretched his arm out to the vendor, dropping it onto the counter. He then morphed into the shape of a ball and started bouncing in the direction of the stall. Dogwood watched as Stretcho crashed into the stack of bottles before bouncing back and reverting to his canine form, "Strike!"

Dumbfounded, the vendor handed Stretcho a blue plush rabbit as the elastic dog bounded up to the plant hybrid and handed him the rabbit, "Here you go, friend!"

Dogwood stared in shock, slowly taking the plush into his arms, "Friend?"

"Yeah! As a matter of fact, I think I've known you long enough to call you my best friend, Twig! You're a really cool guy with some super duper powers. I think you'd make a really great superhero and we'd make an awesome crime-fighting duo together. Those bullies have no idea what they're talking about, I don't care if you were born in a lab or not, you're still my friend and nothing will ever change that."

Dogwood choked back a sob as sap-filled tears gathered in his eyes, "N...no one's ever given me a present before..."

"What's the matter, Twig? You crying? Can I get some pancakes for you to dry your tears with?" Stretcho offered, petting the hybrid on top of his head.

Sniffling, Dogwood dragged his paw across his eyes to rub his tears away, "I'm fine...just got a little emotional there. That's all. So what do you wanna do next?"

Stretcho rubbed his chin in thought before turning to the sound of music that was coming from a tent. Stretching his neck super long, the superhero leaned in close to read a sign on the tent, "Karaoke." Stretcho then leaned down to the villain and smiled at him, "Can you sing?"

"Uhhhhh...haven't really tried it, to be honest. I have a lot of other stuff on my mind." Dogwood said, folding his arms, "Guess its worth a shot."

And with that, Stretcho and Dogwood headed into the tent where some guy in stereotypical cowboy clothes just finished singing Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line". The audience applauded and the man took a bow and exited the stage. Stretcho turned towards Dogwood, "Looks like no one's waiting. Now's our chance to snag a song!"

The two unusual dogs entered the stage and the audience stared in confusion as Stretcho got up to the mic and started barking into it. Apparently, the elastic hero forgot that most people didn't have a universal communicator like Kevin did. Nevertheless, no one made a move to stop the dogs as everyone was too stunned by the sight of them.

Dogwood turned to Stretcho, "You pick the song, I don't listen to the radio that much."

"Okay." The stretchy dog began scrolling through the song selection before he spotted one, "Oooooh, I've always wanted to sing a duet of THIS song!" He pressed the button with his paw and music started up and he smiled at his plantlike friend, "Don't worry, amigo. The lyrics are on the screen and I'll start first!" Stretcho took the mic into his paw and sang:

 _So you think you're a Romeo_

 _Playing a part in a picture-show_

 _Take the long way home_

 _Take the long way home_

He handed Dogwood the mic and he sang the next lines:

 _'Cause you're the joke of the neighborhood_

 _Why should you care if you're feeling good_

 _Take the long way home_

 _Take the long way home_

Stretcho:

 _But there are times that you feel you're part of the scenery_

 _All the greenery is comin' down, boy_

 _And then your wife seems to think you're part of the furniture_ *Morphs into a coffee table*

 _Oh, it's peculiar, she used to be so nice_

Dogwood:

 _When lonely days turn to lonely nights_

 _You take a trip to the city lights_

 _And take the long way home_

 _Take the long way home_

Stretcho:

 _You never see what you want to see_

 _Forever playing to the gallery_ *Morphs into a Mona Lisa painting*

 _You take the long way home_

 _Take the long way home_

Dogwood:

 _And when you're up on the stage, it's so unbelievable,_

 _Oh unforgettable how they adore you,_

Stretcho:

*Morphs into a stereotypical 1950s housewife and sings falsetto* _But then your wife seems to think you're losing your sanity,_

 _Oh, calamity, is there no way out, oh yeah_

Both singing simultaniously:

 _Does it feel that your life's become a catastrophe?_

 _Oh, it has to be for you to grow, boy_

 _When you look through the years and see what you could have been_

 _Oh, what you might have been,_

 _If you'd had more time_

Instantly, before they could finish the song, Streaky entered the tent and the music cut short. The mic dropped to the floor in dead silence as the supercat made his way up onto the stage, "Heya, Stretcho. Whose your new pal?"

"Oh, this here's Twig." Stretcho replied, "He's a little shy at first but he's pretty cool once you get to know him."

Dogwood smiled nervously and waved at the orange cat. Streaky just shrugged, "Oh, well anyway, K-dog just told me to be on the lookout for a villain on the loose. His name's Dogwood. I don't know what he looks like as they haven't printed out the wanted posters just yet. Oh well, with Bathound at his side, I'm sure they'll catch whoever this Dogwood is."

"What are you doing here, Streaky?" Stretcho asked, "Come to play carnival games?"

"Nah, I'm just here for the cotton candy and fried fish." Streaky replied, "Anyway, if you happen to come across this Dogwood, just morph into a cage or something to hold him and let Krypto and Bathound do the rest. I hear he has a thing for plants so maybe set up a stakeout at a greenhouse or something."

"Will do." Stretcho replied happily, saluting the supercat as the feline hero got off the stage and exited. Stretcho and Dogwood watched as Streaky exited the tent and Dogwood wiped some chlorophyll sweat from his brow. Stretcho smiled at the lab experiment, "Looks like you and I are gonna do a stakeout at the greenhouse, Twig. Whoever this Dogwood is, I'm sure he's no match for the two of us."

"Uh, yeah..." Dogwood chuckled nervously, "We'll cream that crook yet!"

Later that night, Stretcho and Dogwood were keeping watch outside the Metropolis greenhouse. The elastic pooch was gazing up into the night sky at all the stars, "Isn't the night sky a beautiful thing, Twig? It's so pretty and full of twinkling stars. Have you ever wished upon a falling star, Twig? Cause I have before."

"No...not really." Dogwood confessed, "Well, I did once...but...it never came true. So I never did it again."

"I made a wish that one day, I would be a big hero like Krypto and have a sidekick of my own. I think you'd make an excellent sidekick, Twig. I just need to come up with a good superhero name for you and you're all set! How about The Mighty Oak? Has a nice ring to it, don't you think so?" Stretcho asked, smiling adorably at the hybrid.

"Yeah..." Dogwood replied sadly, "I guess so. Um...Stretcho?"

"Yes?"

"Hypothetically speaking, would it ever be possible for you to ever make friends with a villain? I know it sounds like a weird question but I'd really like to know if you would." Dogwood asked, twiddling his claws.

Instantly, the elastic blue dog burst out into a fit of laughter. Dogwood couldn't get another word in as Stretcho erupted into a fit of the loudest, most howling laughter he ever heard. As a matter of fact, Stretcho was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his muzzle. It took nearly 5 minutes for the hero to gain control of his laughter before he gave Dogwood a hearty slap on the back, "I didn't know you were a comedian, Twig! That one was a killer!"

"But I'm serious!" Dogwood grumbled, "Would you?"

"Depends on just how bad the bad guy is, I guess." Stretcho shrugged, "I mean, I met Lex Luthor's pet iguana one time and he was kinda full of himself but he really wasn't so bad. Not sure if I'd call him a friend, though."

Dogwood shivered a bit as he recalled trying to team up with Ignatius once. That was one cringy iguana. It was then that Stretcho let out a loud yawn and stretched his limbs, "All that laughing really tired me out. You know Twig, you should do the first watch while I get some shut-eye. If you see Dogwood or you're too tired to keep watch anymore, just wake me up and I'll cover for you."

"Stretcho?"

"What?"

Dogwood hung his head and let out a sigh, "Thanks for being nice to me."

"Well, my name's Buddy for a reason." Stretcho chuckled.

"But I thought your name was Stretcho?" Dogwood blinked in confusion.

"Oh, that's just a superhero secret identity thing but I can trust you with it." Stretcho smiled warmly at Dogwood, "Because you're my best pal. Anyways, good night."

And just like that, Stretcho fell asleep and began snoring. Dogwood looked down at the blue rabbit that Stretcho won for him at the carnival. A single tear formed in the plant hybrid's eye and fell, landing directly on the bunny's chest and leaving a sticky spot on the fabric. Slowly, he sat the plush down next to the sleeping hero as he struggled not to cry, "I'm so sorry. I don't deserve a friend like you..." Dogwood then turned and glared angrily at the greenhouse behind him. Taking a deep breath and drying his eyes, he thought about just how deeply greenhouses angered him. Plants belonged outdoors, not in some weird glass shelter with a fake koi pond. He reached into his fur and pulled out his formula gun, "Gotta liberate these plants. You'll understand later, buddy."


	3. The Truth Is Out

The plant hybrid slowly and carefully picked the lock on the greenhouse with his vines and pushed the doors open. Upon stepping inside, the place automatically lit up and Dogwood aimed his formula gun at a bunch of daisies, "All right, time to get to work."

"Drop the gun." A deep voice came from behind. Dogwood slowly turned around and saw Ace the Bathound staring straight at him with his blank white eyes.

"Heya Bathound, long time no see. Unfortunately for you, this may be the last time you ever see me." Dogwood threatened as vines sprouted out of his back and shot out at Ace.

The bathound dodged the oncoming vines and pressed his collar. Instantly, a batarang shot out and sliced Dogwood's vines clean off, "I don't think so, Dogwood. Not this time."

Instantly, Dogwood turned tail and fled in the opposite direction but was met by Krypto, "Remember me, Dogwood?"

"L...listen." Dogwood stuttered nervously as the two cornered him, "I was just going for a midnight walk in here. You know, just enjoying the beautiful scenery of this lovely greenhouse."

"Then why did you have your gun with you?" Krypto growled at the hybrid.

Dogwood backed up further and fell on his butt, "It was for self-defense! Y...you know. In case I got mugged or somethin."

"You were going to liberate all the plants in this greenhouse, weren't you?" Ace interrogated, giving Dogwood a cold, hard stare.

"As a matter of fact, yes I was." The experiment growled, "See all these plants? They don't wanna live in a glass house, they wanna live out in the wild like nature intended. I was gonna help these poor saplings see a brand new world til you two clowns showed up."

Meanwhile, Stretcho yawned and narrowed his eyes at the bright lights coming from the greenhouse. Waking up, he bounded over towards the open door and peeked his head through to the sight of Dogwood who was tied up by Bathound's cables and he gasped in shock, "Wh...what are you doing to Twig?"

"Twig?" Krypto blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's my friend, Twig." Stretcho replied, "We were on the lookout for Dogwood and we were gonna stop him."

"Hate to break it to you, Stretcho but Twig is Dogwood." Ace stated matter-of-factly.

"Are you serious?" Stretcho gasped in horror. In response, Bathound pressed his collar and a mechanical arm came out. The hand at the end of the arm was holding a wanted poster with Dogwood's picture on it.

"Look, I don't know what happened between the two of you but your little friend here has been lying to you the entire time. Dogwood here is an ecoterrorist that sprays plants with a formula that makes them come to life. Last time we encountered him, he was going to rob Metropolis of all its trees, getting rid of shade once and for all." Ace explained, "I know it may be a bitter pill for you to swallow but "Twig" here is nothing but a lowlife crook whose been using you this whole time."

"S-Say it ain't so!" Stretcho stammered, his normally perky ears beginning to wilt.

"It's so, Stretcho." Krypto sighed, "And we need to take him into custody. Luckily, we caught him just in time before he could make his move."

"Stretcho, I-I can explain..." Dogwood stammered, squirming against his cables.

"Twig...I um, I mean Dogwood. I thought you were my friend...we were gonna be a crime fighting duo together and help Krypto and Bathound keep Metropolis safe. I was even gonna make a matching outfit for you once we caught the bad guy...but, now..." Stretcho was struggling to hold back the tears at this point but somehow managed to choke them down.

"But, Buddy, I-" Dogwood began but was quickly interrupted by Stretcho.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME BY MY REAL NAME, YOU LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE!" Stretcho yelled as his face contorted into an angry snarl, "If you want a friend so badly, then why don't you just go talk to your plants?! I'm sure they'd love to put your tears on their pancakes! I can't believe I trusted you..." The elastic dog angrily pulled out the teddy that Dogwood won for him and slammed it on the floor as tears collected under his eyelids, "I thought we were f-f-friends..."

Dogwood was taken aback by the bouncy hero's unexpectedly angry outburst. Krypto glared down at the plant hybrid, "It's time to go, Dogwood." And with that, Ace pulled Dogwood by his cable-leash in the direction of the awaiting police wagon. Stretcho then moved away to the koi pond to watch the fish in order to calm himself.

Dogwood's heart shattered like glass when he noticed that Stretcho had warm tears rolling down his long snout. He had made the only one who ever treated him with genuine kindness cry and not from laughter this time. The plant-animal hybrid felt his own tears well up and stream down his face as Ace dragged him away to the waiting authorities. Dogwood made no attempt to resist arrest and all he could do was sob like a puppy and quietly apologize through his tears. Krypto slowly approached the crying blue hero and rested a paw on his shoulder, "Are you feeling okay, Stretcho?"

"Oh, Krypto. I can't believe I was so stupid." Stretcho blubbered as his salty tears dripped off his nose into the crystal clear water of the koi pond.

Krypto wrapped his left arm around the tearful elastic pooch and pulled him into a close side-hug to comfort him, "It wasn't your fault, Stretcho. You didn't know he was a wanted criminal."

In response, Stretcho just buried his head in Krypto's furry white chest and allowed himself to just cry it out as the superdog rubbed his back and hugged him to soothe him.

But the pain in Stretch-O-Mutt's heart was nothing compared to Dogwood's. He had just lost his one and only friend. He knew Stretcho had other friends to help him cope with the loss but the green villain had nowhere to turn. All he could do was cry as he was shoved into the back of the police van that Bud and Lou were already housed in. The hyenas could only point and laugh at the sobbing, bound experiment as the van sped off into the night.

 **NOTE:** _I have an epilogue chapter planned so this fanfic isn't finished quite yet._


	4. New Leaf

It was exactly one week since Dogwood was captured at the greenhouse and arrested. Krypto noted a change in Stretch-O-Mutt's behavior. The normally bouncy and silly elastic hero was feeling glum and depressed ever since the arrest. There was a small part of him that felt sorry for Dogwood, even if the supervillain lied to him. Guilt slowly ate away at him as he thought about how he yelled at Dogwood and the sound of the plant hybrid's sobbing as he was dragged away by Bathound. Maybe there really was some good buried deep inside of Dogwood somehow even though barely anyone treated him with love or kindness.

Krypto was flying through the air with an envelope in his mouth. Passing by Star Labs, he landed in the yard and handed it to Stretcho, "Looks like you got a letter from jail. Most likely, it's from Dogwood."

Stretcho sighed and hung his head, "Just open it and read it to me."

"All right." Krypto opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper which appeared to be stained with a syrupy substance in a few places, "Looks like some syrup spilled on it, that's kinda strange."

"Dogwood must've cried as he wrote it. Apparently, his tears are very saplike when he cries." Stretcho explained to the confused superdog.

"Oh, thanks for clearing that up." Krypto nodded before reading the letter:

 _Dear Stretch-O-Mutt,_

 _I'm truly, truly sorry that I lied to you. So far, you're the only one in the world who hasn't treated me like garbage since my tree-parents. I remember being made in a lab. I felt so alone and scared. Sometimes I'd talk to the only plant in the laboratory about my feelings. One time, I escaped and some dog asked me where my parents were. I was so confused, I had no idea what a parent even was. I ran away, stealing the plant life formula from the lab and lived in the woods where I hid out. I brought a couple trees to life and they were my mom and dad until someone set the forest on fire. I watched as my parents burned and as a result, I became disgusted with humans. The reason I became a supervillain in the first place was to stop those dumb humans from ruining the environment because as far as I'm concerned, every last one of them is scum. All they do is chop trees down and disrespect mother nature. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it. I remember crying over the charred remains of my tree-parents when the flames died down and that's an image that'll haunt me til the day I die._

Krypto paused his reading for a second to rub his eyes against the salty sting of tears. At this point, even he was starting to feel sorry for poor Dogwood. Taking a deep breath, Krypto continued reading the letter to Stretcho:

 _I just wanted to say that I'm thinking of turning over a new leaf, so to speak. Maybe one day, I'll get out of prison for good behavior and help you fight crime. Just don't expect me to be trusting of humans in general. I never meant to hurt you like that, especially after you treated me in such a kind way. It felt so strange, being treated with such kindness and it brought me back to the time where my tree-parents loved me. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and if you don't, I completely understand. I'm a villain so naturally, I'm not supposed to be trusted. I just want you to know that you're a great guy and that you'll go on to do many great things. So whatever you do, never lose sight of yourself. Even if we fight on opposite sides of the law, I'll always see you as a true friend._

 _-Dogwood_

As Krypto finished reading the letter, he noticed that Stretcho had tears of joy crawling down his face. "Please, Krypto." Stretcho sniffled, "Take me to go see him."

"Are you sure about this?" Krypto asked, feeling skeptical.

"Of course I am!" Stretcho replied, wiping his tears away, "He needs to know that I forgive him."

"All right, if you insist." Krypto replied. Stretcho morphed into a ball and hopped into Krypto's mouth.

"Careful you don't swallow me." Stretcho joked as Krypto soared through the air with his bouncy friend in his mouth. They zipped in the direction of the jail. As they flew through the sky, Krypto couldn't help but think about Stretcho's unusual friendship with the villain but then again, he himself was more or less frenemies with Ignatius. What really puzzled him is that Stretcho and Dogwood genuinely seemed to care about each other. Maybe Dogwood really was on the road to redemption.

Krypto landed in front of the jailhouse and Stretcho bounced out of his mouth, "Thanks, Krypto. I'll take it from here."

"You sure you want to do this alone?" Krypto asked, raising an eyebrow.

The elastic dog nodded, "I think he only wants to see me and no one else. He'd probably be upset if you saw you here with me."

"Good point." The superdog nodded, "I'll pick you up when visiting hours are over, all right?"

"No need to, I can just morph into a bird and fly, remember?" Stretcho replied as he morphed into an eagle, "Don't I look so patriotic?"

"Um...you do." Krypto chuckled, "Anyway, I'll see you later. I've got to patrol the city because I heard that Isis has escaped."

"I'm sure you'll stop her like you always do." Stretcho laughed, patting Krypto on the shoulder.

"I'm sure I will, Stretcho. Good luck!" The superdog waved at the elastic pooch before zipping off into the air.

Shrugging, Stretcho bounced his way into the jail and as he got inside, he was escorted by guards in the direction of Dogwood's cell. Instead of bars, the cells were plexiglass cages with just a small hole for oxygen. As he passed down the hall, he noticed some familiar faces, including Bud and Lou and Mertin. The white rabbit glared at Stretcho from his cell and Stretcho playfully taunted him by sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry. Mertin let out an angry yelp and started pounding on his cell in response as the guards struggled to hold in laughter.

Upon finally reaching Dogwood's cell, he noticed the plant hybrid perk up and notice him. Without thinking, Dogwood rushed forward with his arms stretched out with the intent of tackling Stretcho into a hug but with hit by the plexiglass wall separating the two of them, "Yeowch! That smarts!"

"Are you okay?" Stretcho asked from the other side of the glass.

Dogwood pressed a red button on his cell to speak, "Of course not! That was really, really painful! But I'll be fine. So you got my letter?"

"Krypto read it to me." Stretcho nodded, "You know, for the last week, I've been feeling pretty guilty about yelling at you like that. It was eating away at me pretty badly, never felt so depressed in my life. Sorry for yelling at you."

"Eh, I'm no stranger to depression." Dogwood admitted, "But that's just the cards life dealt me, ya know? Who said being a villain was easy?"

"So I hear you're planning on turning over a new leaf? You said and I quote" Stretcho asked, morphing into his own dark blue, red-haired version of Dogwood and reciting the letter in an impression of the plant villain's voice, "Maybe one day, I'll get out of prison for good behavior and help you fight crime."

Dogwood actually smiled and clapped at Stretcho's impression of him as the elastic pooch reverted to his normal form, "Hey now, that wasn't half bad for an impression. But yeah, you got me thinking about working with you. But as I said, don't expect me to trust humans so easily even if I switch sides. I've been hurt by them too many times to count."

"I can understand that." Stretcho smiled, "Maybe you could work only for animal rescues in that case."

"That's what I was thinkin." Dogwood replied, "Humans aren't the only ones of the planet in need of saving."

"Before I leave, I have a little request." Stretcho said, turning to face one of the guards, "Can I please be let into Dogwood's cell just so I can give him a hug? Please?"

"Sorry, but physical contact with inmates is against the rules." The guard replied but before he could get out another word, Stretch-O-Mutt just stared up at him with the saddest, most tearful eyes and wilted ears ever. The elastic dog then started whimpering in an extremely adorable manner. The guard sighed, "You know what? You win. You're too cute. I guess I'll break protocol just this once and let you do it."

Stretcho lit up like a Christmas tree as the guard unlocked the cell and ushered him in. Instantly, Dogwoood ran into Stretcho's arms and the two hugged and nuzzled each other affectionately, "Finally, I have someone that I can call a friend."

"Hero or villain, you're still gonna be my pal." Stretcho replied back as he rubbed his long snout against Dogwood's cheek, "So when you get outta here, stop by and see me. Okay?"

"Of course I will." Dogwood said, wagging his tail as he nuzzled against Stretcho's chest, "You can count on me, Buddy."

After a few minutes of cuddling, the two broke away and Stretcho exited the cell as visiting hours were over. Dogwood sadly watched the cell door close as a tear escaped his eye. Dashing the sticky tear away, the plant hybrid couldn't help but smile softly. Finally, someone besides his tree-parents actually cared about him. It was truly the start of a beautiful friendship. The end.


End file.
